A.K. Saseendran
We already mentioned it before, but now it’s getting serious: A.K. Saseendran, Kerala’s forest minister, has pushed through a draft bill that legalises the killing of wild animals—including tigers—that enter residential areas. This unprecedented step, cleared by the state cabinet, effectively rewrites India’s Wildlife Protection Act for Kerala.
The bill authorises the chief wildlife warden to order lethal action, citing man-animal conflict as justification. Officials claim central laws and NTCA guidelines are “impractical obstacles,” but critics argue this is a state-sanctioned license to kill. Once signed into law, Kerala will be the first state in India to bypass federal protection standards for Schedule II species.
PM Modi and the NTCA cannot escape blame. Their silence allows states to dismantle decades of conservation frameworks. When leaders weaken laws, enforcement collapses, and the species most at risk—tigers—pay the price. As seen before in cases of political failure, conservation is not about convenience. Without central resistance, the very guardians of India’s tiger legacy are now complicit in its erosion.
The A.K. Saseendran article:
Based on Times of India, India.
Photo via Times of India.
